More Than A Medal: How X Games League Changed The Way Athletes Compete

XC New York celebrates winning the first ever X Games League championship.

X Games / Jhank Gonzalez Ortiz

For astir 3 decades, athletes person competed astatine X Games seeking individual glory. Action sports, by their nature, are a solitary, not a team, pursuit—though location person been notable exceptions complete the years, specified arsenic Tony Hawk and Andy Macdonald’s vert doubles power of the ’90s and early aughts.

However, successful 2026, the motorboat of X Games League reimagined what action sports title could look like. Under this caller structure, 40 skateboarding and BMX athletes were drafted onto 4 teams of 10. The clubs—XC New York, XC São Paulo, XC Tokyo and XC Los Angeles for the summertime season, pinch wintertime clubs to beryllium announced—have ownership structures, jerseys and salaries, components recovered successful immoderate sports league.

The first play of convention title featured 3 stops: Sacramento, Chiba and the title successful New Orleans, each happening successful the span of 30 days from precocious June to precocious July.

Each extremity resembled the standalone X Games events of the past, successful which athletes competed for individual medals. Undrafted athletes arsenic good arsenic athletes successful non-league disciplines (namely, Moto X) were still successful the operation for podium spots—and galore of them did onshore there, sending a connection to the nine wide managers who did not draught them.

But during XGL’s inaugural summertime season, athletes besides racked up points for their teams. These points would yet spot 1 squad crowned convention champion astatine the last arena successful New Orleans July 24–26.

As the play came to a close, galore athletes recovered that the biggest astonishment wasn't the format itself—it was really quickly they embraced competing for thing bigger than themselves. Nowhere was that much evident than pinch the inaugural champions, XC New York.

Over the 3 events, New York emerged arsenic a powerhouse, matching XC Tokyo stride for stride successful the standings while producing standout performances crossed aggregate disciplines. The roster featured established veterans alongside rising stars.

For athletes accustomed to spending events focused solely connected their ain contests, the acquisition of cheering connected their teammates became an wholly caller portion of the job. Daniel Sandoval knowledgeable that displacement firsthand erstwhile XC New York’s play fell connected his shoulders successful the last arena of the championship, Men’s BMX Park.

“It was a corporate of things pinch the team. Everyone did their part, each constituent mattered and everything came down to the wire,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval’s bronze badge successful BMX Park Best Trick successful Sacramento was only 1 publication to XC New York’s season.

Olympic metallic medalist and BMX jock Hannah Roberts entered the play arsenic 1 of the faces of the caller league, having been drafted 12th wide by XC New York wide head Steve Rodriguez. While her ain performances remained among the sport’s elite—including metallic medals successful Sacramento and Chiba contempt competing done a enarthrosis injury—the squad situation added different magnitude to her competition.

Roberts’ acquisition reflected 1 of the season’s recurring themes. Athletes who had spent years battling each different for podium positions abruptly recovered themselves celebrating each other’s success. Riders who usually competed successful different disciplines became invested successful events they had ne'er earlier followed intimately because each badge mattered to their club.

The effect was particularly visible passim the play arsenic athletes gathered successful squad areas, celebrated podium finishes together and tracked the wide standings from title to contest.

For XC New York, those contributions came from each area of the roster.

No. 1 draught prime Chloe Covell captured golden successful Women’s Skateboard Street successful Chiba and consistently delivered important points. Ginwoo Onodera emerged arsenic 1 of the breakout stars of the inaugural play pinch consecutive thoroughfare victories successful Sacramento and Chiba. Logan Martin piled up podium finishes crossed aggregate BMX disciplines while starring XC New York successful play points. Veterans for illustration Nyjah Huston and rising stars Paige Heyn and Momiji Nishiya added cardinal finishes that kept New York successful the title championship from opening play done the finale.

The play demonstrated that while action sports stay profoundly individual erstwhile the title begins, the moments earlier and aft each tally tin beryllium transformed by having teammates to observe with. That consciousness of shared finance extended beyond medals. Athletes recovered themselves pursuing disciplines extracurricular their own, cheering from the sidelines, discussing strategy betwixt events and experiencing victories—and disappointments—as a group.

Martin was successful the moving for the XGL MVP grant aft he earned 5 medals successful six starts crossed Sacramento and Chiba. However, he took a dense autumn astatine BMX Park believe successful New Orleans, dislocating bones successful his manus and receiving six stitches for a slam connected his chin that besides collapsed aggregate teeth. Disappointed to person to front retired successful the championship, Martin said, “I’ve seen the wrong of excessively galore hospitals this year.”

But conscionable because Martin was retired of committee didn’t mean his squad was.

Before XGL, a competition-ending wounded for illustration that mightiness person meant heading location early. But Martin’s teammates Roberts and Sandoval still had chances to gain XC New York important points connected the last time of competition.

Both were besides earnestly injured. Roberts fractured her fibula and torn ligaments successful her correct ankle aft falling awkwardly successful practice, while Sandoval was dealing pinch a fractured kneecap and ribs arsenic good arsenic a wrist injury.

Martin became a sideline coach and cheerleader, helping Roberts and Sandoval strategize runs that would let them to get conscionable capable points to support XC New York successful the title championship against XC Tokyo while respecting their injured bodies’ limitations.

The strategy changes erstwhile you’re competing arsenic portion of a team. As an individual, Roberts admits, she typically has the mindset of if it’s not first place, it whitethorn arsenic good beryllium last. But erstwhile you’re contributing points toward a squad total, moreover a non-podium decorativeness tin beryllium captious for standings.

“I was riding against aesculapian advice, partially because there’s 9 different group depending connected me, and they’re each surviving up to their expectations, and, you know, it’s my move to do my part,” Roberts said. “I wanted to do that by immoderate intends necessary, moreover if it was only getting 20 points.”

XC New York entered the last time of title pinch a 20-point lead complete XC Tokyo. Roberts and her squad had wished that she only needed to decorativeness successful sixth spot to springiness XC New York capable points to support the separator successful the standings.

“Logan, Chloe [Covell], Nyjah, Tate [Carew], everybody was there,” Roberts said astir dropping successful for the Women’s BMX Park final. “Having them and having the GMs and the owners and everybody there—I told them I wasn’t taking a 2nd run, I was conscionable gonna do first and third, and they backed that determination 100%—helped maine get what I needed successful the moment.

“And that was the craziest emotion for X Games. I mean, I’m a very competitory person, but pinch really the limb was emotion and the ankle was feeling, I astir apt would person pulled retired connected Saturday. And past you conscionable look astatine really bully everybody was riding, really adjacent the points were. And I was conscionable like, ‘No, I could do this.’”

Roberts overdelivered, finishing successful bronze-medal position and earning 75 points.

Meanwhile, aft a autumn successful BMX Dirt believe Sunday day near him pinch a fractured kneecap and wrist injuries—on apical of the fractured ribs he suffered astatine the first extremity of the play successful Sacramento—Sandoval wasn’t looking apt to compete successful Men’s BMX Park, the last arena of the championship.

Sandoval was supporting teammates Chloe Covell and Momiji Nishiya astatine their Women’s Skateboard Street Best Trick event, hoping they would beryllium capable to gain capable points to dress up for the truth that he wasn’t capable to compete. Nishiya eked retired a win.

However, Covell wasn’t capable to put down a cleanable run, while 2 XC Tokyo athletes, Coco Yoshizawa and Yumeka Oda, earned podium positions and, betwixt them, 160 points, 60 much than Nishiya earned pinch her first-place finish.

It kept XC New York statistically alive, but hardly.

Sandoval sewage the statement that Men’s BMX Park believe was group to statesman successful 10 minutes and began to make his measurement crossed Caesars Superdome to driblet successful and spot really he felt. The president of XC New York proprietor UNA Sports Group, Daniel Rader, walked pinch him. Rader was reasoning retired loud: the Men’s BMX Park podium would astir apt impact immoderate operation of Marcus Christopher, Justin Dowell and Kieran Reilly, nary of whom competed for XC Tokyo.

If Sandoval could someway decorativeness fourth, and Kevin Peraza (XC Tokyo) and Bryce Tryon (free agent) came successful 5th and sixth…

Sandoval understood the accusation immediately. XC New York was still successful the moving for the championship, and he could unafraid it without moreover having to decorativeness connected the podium.

“He could hardly locomotion to the course,” X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom said. “We sewage the statement from aesculapian that Daniel was out. And past Steve Rodriguez, his GM, came up to maine successful the jock lounge and said, ‘Hey, if I nonstop Daniel, and he conscionable drops successful to get america the 20 points’—because that’s what he would person gotten astatine sixth—’is that allowed?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I mean, absolutely, he tin driblet successful and not do anything.’”

“I’m watching him practice, and I watch him spell faster and faster each believe run, and past connected the 3rd he goes up to his squad container and says, ‘Throw maine my pads,’” Bloom recalled. “And that’s erstwhile I knew, this feline is gonna compete, not conscionable driblet in.”

“Logan Martin was pinch maine successful my area erstwhile I sewage injured,” Sandoval said. “He said, ‘Bro, 45 seconds is each you need.’ And Hannah had already performed and did her thing. I was like, ‘All right, let’s conscionable do this. I’ll wounded later, but astatine slightest it gives america hope.’”

Sandoval knew he was successful nary authorities to decorativeness connected the podium. He knew he didn’t request to.

“I knew I could get 4th and astatine slightest use the unit [to XC Tokyo],” Sandoval said. “It’s a rotation of the dice.”

Sandoval and Martin went backmost and distant connected really champion to building his run. He needed an attack that would people precocious capable to unafraid 4th spot but that wouldn’t consequence different autumn and further injury.

Once he dropped in, “every instrumentality aliases deed I’m hoping my assemblage doesn’t sprout immoderate crisp pain,” Sandoval said. “Adrenaline is 1 hellhole of a supplier because I was emotion good. I conscionable pushed done each of it and I conscionable dug existent deep. It was a crazy infinitesimal because possibly 2 aliases 3 group knew I was gonna spell for it; everyone other thought I was conscionable location supporting my team.”

“I retrieve he and Logan discussed a tally that they knew would put him successful fourth, and erstwhile he pulled it off, we were each waiting to spot if Tokyo could apical it,” Roberts said.

Peraza and Tryon made captious errors successful their runs and were incapable to apical Sandoval’s. As soon arsenic Tryon went down, XC New York’s celebrations began.

“It seems for illustration Bryce fell and had this full group of group celebrating his downfall, but it’s not for illustration that,” Sandoval said. “It’s a different facet of competitiveness. At the extremity of the day, we’re each homies and we each get on and there’s nary bad blood. But successful the infinitesimal of competition, each that’s retired the window.”

Embracing Roberts, Sandoval collapsed down successful tears, which successful move caused Roberts to outcry arsenic well. Meanwhile, the confetti fell astir them for XC New York’s triumph and eternal declare to the title of first-ever XGL champions—and the $500,000 prize purse that came on pinch the civilization trophy designed by manner jewelry marque GLD.

Joining them successful the ceremony was GM Rodriguez and teammates Huston, Martin, Covell, Bryce Wettstein, Carew, Nishiya, Ginwoo Onodera and Heili Sirviö. Skateboarders Julian Agliardi, Paige Heyn and Jagger Eaton besides served arsenic wounded replacements during the season.

“When you beryllium down and you programme the 30 events from Friday to Sunday, you effort to do your champion to beryllium deliberate pinch that past one,” Bloom said. “And I had specified a beardown intuition that the arena would travel down to that past event, Men’s BMX Park. But nary of america could person scripted it that well.”

Many viewers expressed concern, if not criticism, that Roberts and Sandoval competed erstwhile they were truthful evidently injured. Both were evaluated by aesculapian unit and told precisely what they were risking if they chose to compete. Both decided the consequences were ones they could unrecorded with. The aesculapian unit service arsenic the referees of these sports, but short of failing concussion monitoring, the last determination is typically near to the athletes.

Roberts and Sandoval some said they apt wouldn’t person competed that Sunday if they were doing truthful arsenic individuals. Both felt an responsibility to beryllium location for the 9 different members of their squad who were counting connected them, but successful the end, it was affirmative information driving their performances, not adjacent pressure.

“My teammates knew really bad I was hurting and they saw it all,” Sandoval said. “If I were to person been like, ‘Hey guys, it’s not happening,’ not 1 of them would person been like, ‘Come on, dude, you sewage this.’ They’d beryllium like, ‘We get it, that was rough.”

Roberts agreed, and recovered that the support of her squad was basal to pushing done the pain. “I ever deterioration headphones, but I virtually couldn’t perceive my euphony erstwhile the title started because Team New York was cheering truthful loud,” she said.

These are athletes who person been coming astatine each the aforesaid X Games events for galore years but, until XGL launched, had seldom crossed paths. What origin would men’s parkland skater Tate Carew person to beryllium astatine a women’s BMX parkland event? When would Sandoval person ever recovered himself astatine a women’s skateboard thoroughfare event?

After 3 events arsenic members of XC New York, however, the athletes had wholly bought in.

“Just being portion of Team New York has inspired maine and has been specified an unbelievable immense power connected maine and is simply a blessing successful my life,” skateboarder Bryce Wettstein wrote connected Instagram. “It feels for illustration family.”

For a procreation of athletes raised successful an individual sport, the clasp of squad civilization came faster than galore expected.

“Building camaraderie successful a convention for illustration XGL isn’t for illustration thing other successful action sports. These are riders who’ve spent their full careers doing their ain thing, dropping successful solo, truthful it was really typical watching them really bargain into a squad vibe and show up for each other,” said Rodriguez.

“When Hannah threw down the measurement she did, and past Daniel put it each connected the statement astatine the end, you could show it wasn't astir individual glory anymore. They were riding for each other, for the team,” Rodriguez continued. “The look connected Daniel’s and Hannah's faces erstwhile they clinched it, that earthy emotion, that's thing you can't script. You could spot everything they poured into this play conscionable deed them each astatine once. That's erstwhile you cognize the squad exemplary works. You can’t clone that benignant of selflessness and squad chemistry, and you decidedly can’t unit it. It has to hap organically, and for this group, it conscionable clicked.”

Longtime action sports fans were skeptical that a squad conception could win astatine X Games. Many changed their minds aft seeing what XC New York pulled off.

“I had truthful galore group connection me, ‘I wasn’t onboard pinch this full squad point but now I’m each in,’” Sandoval said. “I didn’t deliberation it was going to person that overmuch of an impact, but it really changed a batch of people’s perspectives. There were truthful galore DMs that I sewage affectional astir it. It was beautiful powerful.”

In the end, XC New York captured the title by finishing only 10 points up of XC Tokyo.

As the inaugural X Games League play concluded, XC New York emerged arsenic the champion, but the league’s astir meaningful accomplishment was thing little tangible. It proved that action sports athletes could support their individual identities while embracing the camaraderie, accountability and shared intent that specify accepted squad sports.